Ilia Krasilshchik runs Helpdesk.media, a website that offers advice and support to people affected by the actions of the Russian government. He had a recent opinion piece in The NY Times that provides a look at what is happening in the country now that thousands of Russian men are about to become part of the invasion of Ukraine — whether they like it or not.
It begins like this:
“Hello, I have a pregnant wife and a mortgage. My wife is panicking, and I have no money to go abroad. How can I escape the draft?”
This is a message we received at Helpdesk.media, a website I and other journalists set up in June to help people — with information, legal advice and psychological support — affected by the actions of the Russian government. The writer, after completing his mandatory military service seven years ago, was being drafted into the war in Ukraine. The Russian government was not interested in who will pay the mortgage or take care of his pregnant wife. It simply wanted more fodder for its war.
In the days since Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization,” clearing the way for hundreds of thousands of men to be conscripted into his failing war effort, we’ve fielded tens of thousands of messages like these. Some were plaintive; others were defiant. Some were simply defeated. Along with Russians desperately trying to board flights, crossing borders or attacking recruitment centers, they testified to the same desire: to avoid the draft.
The truth is, they probably can’t. While presented as a limited measure affecting only those who previously served in the army, in practice, the government has free rein to conscript as many people as it wants. The initial number of 300,000, for example, already seems an enormous undercount. In the face of a monstrous regime hellbent on war and widespread international isolation, Russians are caught in a disaster. And judging from the response so far, they are terrified.
The link at top should allow passage through The NY Times paywall.
The rest of it describes how few options Russians have to do anything about this. Reports of wide support for the invasion of Ukraine in Russia are difficult to credit, given official control of media. Protests are not tolerated. There’s no simple way to remove Putin from power, certainly not for ordinary people, and if Putin has engaged in brutal behavior in Ukraine through the forces under his command, the same force can and will be turned on domestic resistance to his rule.
It’s easy to forget that Ukrainians are not the only ones suffering from Putin’s war. This is just one of many videos showing traffic backing up at border crossings as Russian men try to leave the country to escape being mobilized.
A reminder — Putin is a leader Trump has open admiration for as “a smart guy”, one who is willing to be ‘tough’ on those who oppose him. It's an attitude shared by many in the party — and an indication of how they’d like to emulate him in America. It’s worth considering what the rest of us would find ourselves doing in a similar circumstance.